1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a non-rinse, isotropic hard surface cleaner especially adapted to be used on glossy or smooth, hard surfaces, such as glass windows and the like, which removes soils deposited thereon, while significantly reducing the amount of residue caused by unremoved soil, cleaner, or a combination thereof.
2. Brief Statement of the Related Art
Cleaning hard, glossy surfaces such as glass windows has proven to be problematic. To remove soils deposited on such surfaces, the typical approach is to use an alkaline ammonium-based aqueous cleaner or other aqueous cleaners containing various mixtures of surfactants and other cleaning additives. Unfortunately, many of the ammonia-based cleaners have fairly poor soil removing ability, while many of the surfactant-based cleaners leave fairly significant amounts of residue on such hard, glossy surfaces. This residue is seen in the phenomena of streaking, in which the soil, cleaner, or both are inconsistently wicked off the surface, and filming, in which a thin layer of the residue actually clings to the surface desired to be cleaned.
Baker et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,779, demonstrated a hard surface cleaner having improved non-streaking/filming properties in which a combination of low molecular weight polymer (e.g., polyethylene glycol) and certain surfactants were combined.
Corn et al., E.P. 0393772 and E.P. 0428816, describe hard surface cleaners containing anionic surfactants with ammonium counterions, and additional adjuncts.
G.B. 2,160,887 describes a cleaning system in which a combination of nonionic and nonionic surfactants (including an alkanolamine salt alkyl sulfate) is contended to enhance cleaning efficacy.
WO 91/11505 describes a glass cleaner containing a zwitterionic surfactant, monoethanolamine and/or beta-aminoalkanols as solvents/buffers for assertedly improving cleaning and reducing filming spotting.
Garabedian et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,245, and its related applications, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/134,349 and 08/134,348, both filed Oct. 8, 1993, all of common assignment herewith, disclose improved glass and surface cleaners which combine either amphoteric or nonionic surfactants with solvents and effective buffers to provide excellent streaking/filming characteristics on glass and other smooth, glossy surfaces. These disclosures are incorporated herein by reference thereto.